ICS Daily Devotions
The Love of Money
1 Tim 6:9-10 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Some churches shy away from teaching about money for fear of being accused of preaching a Prosperity Gospel or for other concerns. However, if Christians don’t understand biblical finance, they will only trust the world’s system. We must learn to trust God and have faith in His provision, and to remember to operate in God’s terms and not man’s terms. We don’t dictate to God to provide for us. Instead, we operate in the biblical financial principles in order to experience His provision.
Money is a means of exchange or barter. It is representative of your time, and by extension, your life. Money in itself is neutral—neither good nor evil. Instead, it is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil; it leads us away from God and pierces us with many sorrows.
1 Tim 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
The Apostle Paul gave a command to the rich not to be conceited or proud. It is easy to become proud when one is rich, but we have all seen how the mighty has fallen, and how the financial crisis has turned people from riches to rags overnight. Their whole world seems to crumble around them because their security was built upon “sinking sand”.
This passage agrees that riches are not evil. If there was anything wrong with money or riches, the command for the rich would have been to get rid of their wealth. If God knew that you were holding a bomb or something that could harm you, He would see to it that you were separated from it. Yet He did not command them to get rid of their wealth—just not to get high-minded and not to trust in the riches but in the living God instead.
Sermon Series: Blessed By The Better
